The long-awaited Endurance Carnival 2011 Motegi Open 7-Hour Endurance Road Race "Open Mote Tai" has begun.

On September 3rd (Sat), a special sports driving was held in the morning, followed by official qualifying in the afternoon, and a time attack was carried out to determine the starting grid. The large typhoon No. 12 had an impact, and in the morning, it rained like a squall, but then the sun shone and the road dried up, and then it rained again, making for a difficult and constantly changing condition.

The time attack began with the first rider of Group A, and was contested in 20-minute sessions. Due to differences in track conditions in each session, the grid was determined by the fastest time in each group. The top time in Group B was set by #812 Takatsuki Garage Racing Team with a time of 5:00.460, earning them the fastest time and pole position.

"I went out with dry tires, but when I entered the course, I thought, 'This is a failure!?' However, I ran as hard as I could because I had to make sure I didn't crash and had to connect next time. It's all good in the end," said first rider Hidechi Suzuki. In his third year with a NZ-based (engine is WR250) machine, he finally started to get good times. He also showed confidence in his fuel efficiency and aiming for a 2 minute 20 second time in dry conditions.

【#54 Flat River Wingstone】took the top spot in Group A on the second grid, followed by 【#6 BF TwinSRASH】, 【#21 PS Eddie & Haratsuyoworks】, 【#24 SPA Straight-In Inst & Phoebe】, and 【#60 RT Shuwacchi's amazing driving】, lining up on the grid.

"Open Mote Endurance" final race will start at 9:30 am on September 4th (Sun) aiming for a 7-hour finish.

[Champion's Comment] The starting rider for [#11 RC30 & BLUE EYES] is former MotoGP™ rider Toru Ukawa! In the final of the "Mote tai Masters" two years ago, he passed 14 bikes on the opening lap and was in first place by the second lap. Last year, he also participated in the "Open Mote tai" and showed outstanding speed. This time, he will surely show us world-class riding. In addition, All Japan ST600 champion Tatsuya Yamaguchi is also entering from [#17 Assort + RCR Hangout]. This is also a must-see!